Oil and filter for 2013 Sienna

Well it's been pretty busy around here but in the mist of it I've finally ironed out all the details on the warranty. It turns out there were three more pages to the warranty document that were accidentally omitted from my take home packet. Those pages spell out all the details. I was also able to call and confirm that the warranty company is real and does have my van on file.

The warranty covers all "lubricated engine parts", block, heads, flywheel, manifolds, oil pan & pump, timing chain and cover, and valve covers, the cooling and fuel system, the transmission in it's entirerty, the axle shafts, axle bearings and hub components. Specifically does not cover gaskets and seals unless their part of a repair for one of the covered parts. I assume that means no coverage for head-gasket which is sort of a big deal repair if it's actually needed (just let it go till it cracks the head and then it's covered I guess).

One big negative is that it requires oil change every 6 months or 7,500 miles. I was planning to follow the recommendation of going 1year/10,000 miles. Essentially if I want to keep the warranty I have to double my rate of oil changes.

Also I looked up the warranty company. It's actually "United States Warranty Corp" out of Pompano Beach FL. It's real but pretty sketchy. They had a "B" rating on Better Business Bureau, which sounds pretty good but I think that's actually pretty bad. They had a ton of complaints of not standing by their guarantee for various products. There were other business rating sites with lots of negative reviews, averaging 2 of 5 stars.

I still think it's sort of a business incentive plan to try to get buyers to keep using the dealership. Two free oil changes at the dealership, ya know to get you in the door, and a nudge to "keep coming here so your warranty is easy to maintain." When I called the warranty company they even said to be sure to take the van to the original dealer for any work that needed to be covered. It's not like the dealership is exactly close so that's kind of a big negative.

Conclusion the warranty is real, but whether they'll actually pull through if it's actually needed is in question and it looks like it'll be a bit of a pain to maintain it too.
 
That warranty and company are BS. 99% of them are. They just give you millions of reasons not to cover anything.
Last 2 car purchases had 2 dealers trying to scam me into getting then for monthly payments and it was a HARD no for that.
 
Originally Posted by mahanddeem
That warranty and company are BS. 99% of them are. They just give you millions of reasons not to cover anything.
Last 2 car purchases had 2 dealers trying to scam me into getting then for monthly payments and it was a HARD no for that.


100% agree
 
Originally Posted by mahanddeem
That warranty and company are BS. 99% of them are. They just give you millions of reasons not to cover anything.
Last 2 car purchases had 2 dealers trying to scam me into getting then for monthly payments and it was a HARD no for that.


Yeah, this is definitely a scenario where if they had tried to get me to buy the warranty I would have said no way. But since they just included it "at no charge"...well here we are.
 
My wife used to sell insurance and always said extended warranties were a scam. Ever wonder why the finance officer at a car dealer pushes them so much. Finance officer gets a kick back, car salesman gets a kick back and the dealer gets a kick back. If you got a "free" warranty, it was rolled into the vehicle price.
 
Originally Posted by ka9mnx
...If you got a "free" warranty, it was rolled into the vehicle price.


Yeah, that was sort of my assumption as well. I checked the Edmunds and Kelly Blue Book values and the asking price matched or was lower than the listed values, I even negotiated them down some so, hey, I was satisfied.
 
Toyota filters are $5 at my local dealer, and I know without a doubt that they're genuine. The parts folks throw in a drain plug washer for free.

Can't beat that.

Magnatec and Toyota OEM filter for the win!
 
Any major name brand oil and oil filter will serve you well. I have seen many cars with 300,000 miles + on the odometer running Jiffy lube oil and filters. Pick a flavor of M1 oil and be happy.
 
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